5 Reactivity Secrets

Dog Trainers Don’t

Want You To Know
 TABLE OF
CONTENT
02 Introduction

06 Secret #1 - Your Dog’s

Reactivity is Not Your Fault

10 Secret #2 - Stress Adds Up

12 Secret #3 - Your Dog Needs

Decompression

15 Secret #4 - When Your Dog

is Flipping Out, it’s Too Late

Secret #5 - Don’t Train For

17
More Than 10 Minutes at a
Time

17 Thank You
 INTRODUCTION
Why I Do What I do
bring him along when she
had coffee with her friends
and to the farmers market in
her neighborhood each
Wednesday.

Within the first few weeks, it

Steffi Trott - Founder & Head Trainer
I was a full-time, professional in-
person dog trainer until 2020. In
my many years of training dogs
locally, I have worked with
hundreds of reactive dogs. I have
seen it all: the good, the bad and
the ugly.
was clear that Tommy was
in no way ready for these
activities. In fact, he was not
ready to behave normally at
all once outside. Every dog
that passed them (even at a
distance) sent him into a
barking fit. The other dog
didn’t even have to look in
his direction!

Most of all, I saw many clients

that sought out my help after the
training they took with another
dog trainer failed. I remember all
of them, and I remember all of
their training journeys. There are
too many to share them all, so
let me tell you about one team:
Margaret and Tommy.

Margaret had adopted her little

mixed breed Tommy at 2 years
old. She had been so happy to
finally get a dog in retirement.
Margaret & Tommy
Margaret had many plans for
Tommy: She wanted to take him
2 on long walks at the beach, to
 Instead of relaxing walks at the beach, Margaret would take
only short trips around the block. And even then, her arms and
hands hurt from hanging onto the leash so tightly when she
returned home.

Margaret looked online for an in-person dog trainer and started

taking weekly private lessons with the one she found. He was
expensive, and she could barely afford him in her retirement -
still, she wanted only the best for Tommy. She was so hopeful
that the trainer could finally help her realize her dreams for the
two of them. So she spent $150 each week for two months.

After two months, Tommy’s behavior was exactly the same.

Perhaps it was even worse. When Margaret finally worked up
the courage to approach the trainer about the lack of progress,
he was defensive: He claimed it was Margaret’s fault for not
being confident enough with Tommy!

It was then that Margaret stopped working with this trainer. She
felt so defeated and hopeless. All the time and money had been
for nothing, and she was back at the starting point. She wanted
just to enjoy life with her little dog so much, and she could not
figure out how to make it happen. Once more, she turned on her
computer and searched online for help. She found my website
and got in touch.

Meeting Margaret and listening to her story broke my heart. I

had seen so many other situations like this. So many dog
trainers do not use the right approaches for reactivity training.

Margaret and I started working together with Tommy. We

worked through the myths and mistakes she had heard from
that first trainer. I showed her how Tommy’s reactivity was not
her fault. I taught her how his stress added up and why she
needed always to be mindful of his emotional state. I
introduced her to the idea of decompression, and she started
using it daily for Tommy.

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 Most of all, I did not make her pay me for a private lesson once
a week. Tommy needed frequent but very brief training sessions.
With the right instructions, Margaret could do this by herself,
only checking in with me every few weeks.

After three weeks, Tommy could walk around the neighborhood

without barking and lunging at other dogs. After six weeks, they
could go to the city center. After eight weeks, I got an ecstatic
text from Margaret saying that she took Tommy to the beach for
the first time, and he did phenomenally well.

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 It wasn’t just Tommy who went through a transformation.
Margaret also changed as he became calmer, friendly, and
better behaved. She went from being a frustrated and defeated
dog owner to one who was proud of her dog. She beamed
whenever she talked of Tommy and their adventures.

This is why I do what I do.

For me, there’s nothing better than watching a dog and owner
team succeed. I want to help dog owners make the visions they
have for their dogs come true. And I do that without making
them pay me hundreds of dollars for weekly lessons or teaching
them outdated, ineffective methods.

I hope that you enjoy this ebook and that it gives you some new
insights into your reactive dog’s behavior. Your dog is not trying
to misbehave. They are not giving you a hard time. They are
simply having a hard time.

And we can be there for them to help them through it.

Steffi Trott, founder of SpiritDog Training

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 SECRET #1
Your Dog’s Reactivity is
Not Your Fault
Somewhere along the way, someone has probably told you:

“You need to be your dog’s leader.”

“If you’re anxious, your dog is anxious.”
“You just need to give commands in a confident way.”
“Your dog can feel your insecurities and is insecure because of
it.”

I want you to forget these right now. You are not making your
dog reactive simply by not being confident enough.

Reactivity is a complex behavior that is rooted in different

causes. But none of these causes is a “lack of owner confidence.”

Your dog’s reactivity is not your fault.

Instead, here are the most common reasons that dogs are
reactive:

1. Traumatic events

If your dog has experienced a traumatic event, such as being

attacked by another dog, this is, unfortunately, very likely to
make them reactive. Dogs can learn from single stressful
events, especially when they're young.

If your reactive dog was bitten at daycare or a dog park in the

past, this could have contributed to or even completely caused
their reactivity.

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 Also, dogs can even become reactive from traumatic events
where, objectively, “nothing bad happened.” Even if your dog
was completely fine and unharmed, the intense stress of being
attacked by another dog can start their reactivity.

If you own a rescue dog, then you would not even be able to
know what kind of traumatic event has happened in your dog’s
life. If they are reactive, you just have to assume that something
bad happened or that they had lapses in socialization.

This is the second reason why dogs are reactive:

2. Lapses in socialization

Depending on your dog’s breed, they may have needed a lot of

positive exposure in their first two years of life. COVID definitely
made providing this positive exposure to our dogs incredibly
difficult.

As a professional trainer, I have actually never seen as many

reactive dogs in my career as after 2020. So, if your dog became
reactive after being a COVID puppy - this is not unexpected.

Some dogs require intense amounts of positive exposure in

order to feel comfortable and not become reactive. If you were
not able to provide this because of external factors, this is not
your fault.

The good news is that we can still provide this positive exposure
and make your dog less reactive going forward.

Finally, the 3rd big reason that dogs are reactive is:

3. Their breed

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 Certain breeds are predisposed to develop reactivity simply due
to the function they were bred for. Herding breeds, for example,
were created to be highly motion-sensitive and super aware of
their environment. They are likely to notice small environmental
changes and react intensely.

In addition, when herding dogs were developed, they would

typically live in relative solitude on farms. So, if you take an
Aussie or a German Shepherd and put them into an urban or
suburban environment, they commonly show reactive behavior.

Guard dog breeds are also prone to showing reactive behavior.

Once more, their original breed function of detecting intruders
predisposes them to show intense responses to triggers.

Last but not least, very energetic dog breeds, such as

Goldendoodles or Labradoodles, often develop reactivity that’s
based on frustration. They are simply so exuberant and
energetic that they frustrate themselves into reactive behavior.

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 All this is to say that it is not
your fault that your dog is
reactive. There are many
factors outside of your
control that contribute.

However, you have the power to change their behavior. With the
right approach, we can turn them from crazy to calm.

The next big secret dog trainers don’t want you to know about
reactivity is …

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 SECRET #2
Stress Adds Up
Have you ever wondered why your reactive dog sometimes
seems to do better some days, and on other days, they are
barking and lunging worse than ever before?

It’s because stress is cumulative.

Stress stacks on top of more stress, and that’s what eventually

causes the dogs’ meltdowns.

As humans, we have all experienced this:

In the morning, your coffee maker is broken
You hit a traffic jam on the way to work
There’s stress at the office because of a missed deadline
When you come home, having been stressed all day like this,
you could snap at the smallest issue after being so worn
down!

The exact same happens with reactive dogs. Often, many small
triggers throughout the day cause them to be constantly on
edge.

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 They may get triggered by the neighbor’s dog barking
They flip out when the doorbell rings
They are anxious about going to the vet
And all of this stress adds up every day of their life. When
they finally encounter another dog or human on a walk,
they just completely lose their mind

This explains why your

reactive dog can be better on
some days and worse on
others. How badly they react
depends on their stress
before encountering their
trigger.

You may hear this and think, “How do I start to counter the
stress?” Don’t worry, it’s possible.

The third secret I am sharing already takes you halfway through

the process:

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 SECRET #3
Your Dog Needs
Decompression
Decompression consists of intentional activities that help your
reactive dog calm down. You can think of decompression for
your dog, like yoga or meditation for humans.

The more reactive your dog is, the more decompression they
need!

Here are our SpiritDog-approved top five ways to offer

decompression:

Scatter Feeding

If you have a yard, try scattering some treats there. Sniffing for
treats will lower your dog’s heart rate and calm them down
within minutes. You can easily include this into a busy schedule,
such as by scattering treats outside in the morning and letting
your dog find them while you get ready for work.

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 Chewing

Chewing is an innate canine need and a great way to relax your

reactive dog. A reactive dog should be offered at least one
appropriate chew item daily! This could be a bully stick, yak
milk chew, or a rubber toy filled with food and frozen.

Licking

Similar to chewing, licking is very calming for dogs. You can

purchase a “lick mat” online or simply take an empty yogurt
container or a muffin tin and spread some peanut butter or wet
food in there. Just five minutes of licking will noticeably calm
your dog and dissipate stress.

Shredding

Many dogs can destress very well by shredding. You can give
cardboard boxes to your dog to shred or put newspaper into a
box and then have them rip it out.

Note: You should always supervise your dog during shredding

and make sure they do not ingest anything.

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 Enough Sleep

Dogs require much more sleep than humans. Your dog should
nap several times throughout the day. If they are awake for too
long, they are much more likely to get cranky and react badly
towards triggers!

If your dog struggles to settle down by themselves, put them

into a quiet room, exercise pen, or crate for at least two hours
each day. A well-rested dog is a much better-behaved dog.

Decompression is crucial for

reactive dogs. The more
stressed your dog is, the
more often you should offer
decompression!

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 SECRET #4
When Your Dog is Flipping
Out, it’s Too Late
The biggest myth surrounding reactivity? It is that you work on it
when the dog is already in the middle of an outburst.

Many dog trainers, and over 90% of reactivity videos on the

internet, falsely teach their clients to wait until the dog is
already lunging and barking, and then they try to either distract
the dog with treats or correct them for their behavior.

This does not work because of the way the brain processes
stress. Let’s take a couple of steps back:

When your dog goes from behaving normally (being responsive

and calm and listening to you) to having an outburst (barking
and lunging without responding to you at all), they cross the
so-called “threshold.”

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 You can think of the threshold as a threshold to a house. You
are either outside or inside. The same is true for your dog: They
are either under the threshold or they cross it.

Once they cross the threshold, they already ingrain the

response.

No matter what you do after they cross it - whether you offer

them a treat, tell them “No!” sternly, or try to comfort them -
this cannot undo the experience of flipping out in the first place.

Does this mean it is the end of the world when your reactive dog
gets triggered and pushed over the edge? No. It happens to all
reactive dog owners, and we cannot always predict triggers.

However, it does mean that in reactivity training, you should

never set up situations that are designed to make your dog
react (sadly, too many dog trainers still recommend this
outdated method).

If your dog flips out, you should remove them from the situation
and apply some of your decompression techniques. And in the
next training session, keep the trigger at a lower intensity.

Reactivity training is not

done by pushing your dog
into the red zone! You should
never provoke an outburst in
your dog, as this will only
make their reactivity worse.

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 SECRET #5
Don’t Train for More Than
10 Minutes at a Time
Of course, most dog trainers don’t want you to know this one. It
goes directly against the premise of hour-long in-person
training sessions!

The fact is that reactive dogs have very brief windows during
which they learn. A reactivity training session can be as short as
3-5 minutes. It should never be longer than 10 minutes in total!

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 If you train for too long, your dog’s stress level will rise
uncontrollably, and eventually, they will have another
outburst. And all training will have been for nothing.

This makes in-person reactivity training lessons so expensive

(and often less effective): You need frequent but brief training
sessions.

Always end your training session long before you feel that your
dog has had enough. Training through reactivity is hard work for
your dog! A few minutes are plenty.

Don’t be frustrated with your dog when they tire quickly during
training. This is completely normal. As you move through
reactivity training, your dog will eventually become less
stressed and develop more training endurance.

As you already know, relaxing is important for your reactive

dog! After each training session, offer your dog decompression:
scatter-feeding or chewing and a long nap.

Reactivity training is hard

work for your dog. The
longer the training session,
the higher the chance your
dog flips out. Keep training
sessions to a maximum of 10
minutes!

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 THANK YOU
We love to see humans and their dogs thrive. If you have any
questions, please feel free to reach out to us at
info@spiritdogtraining.com at any time.

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your dog training

journey.

The SpiritDog Team

Steffi Victoria

Paige

Steve Robbie

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